


Broken Trust

by Leaves_Crown



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Betrayal, Fear, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-06
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2017-12-25 20:25:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 6,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/957266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leaves_Crown/pseuds/Leaves_Crown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanada believes Yukimura blames him for Rikkai's failure. He departs for Hyotei, leaving Yukimura stunned and confused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fragment 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters will be short, switching from Sanada's to Yukimura's point of view.
> 
> You can visit me on my Tumblr, if you like: 
> 
> =leavescrown=

The hamburger in front of him remained uneaten. Sanada had only eaten three fries before he started staring out of the window of the fastfood place.

He had failed. 

Yes, sure. Their bid for the nationals had come to a final end when Yukimura was beaten by Echizen, but it had been him who had made the first dent in Rikkai’s perfection. Yukimura’s life had been in danger just weeks before he played the little brat in the finals. If he had won the Kantou tournament, Yukimura would not have felt pressured to play so soon. Sanada should have whipped their team, and most of all, himself, into invincibility.

And now he and Yukimura barely talked. All the trust between them had dissipated, as had Yukimura’s affection for him. Sanada found little joy in tennis anymore, at least at the club. Not a word of reprove, Yukimura had spoken. This made it worse, for Sanada could feel his disappointment every day. So he pushed himself harder, beyond what he thought his limit had been. 

“Maybe I’ll go for it,” Niou said, dipping two fries into his ketchup. “Free food and a whole new campus to play with.”

“As if you want to share a room,” Marui commented. 

"Might." Niou shrugged. “What about you then?” 

“Dunno. I’m a bit scared of that kid Akutagawa. He’d follow me around everywhere.”

“What are they talking about?” Sanada asked Renji.

The data master put down his tray, filled with only a healthy salad and orange juice. “Hyotei offers an exchange. For two months only, mind, so as to promote good feeling between schools.”

“Yeah right,” Niou said. “It’s just something their parents cooked up to feel better about their privileged lifestyle.”

“Does it matter why they do it?” Renji took a sip from the juice. “If it provides an opportunity to…”

“Blahblah,” Niou cut in. 

Not pleased at being interrupted in such a matter, Renji put down his glass. “I am sure Yagyuu would agree with my assessment.”

“Yeah, what do you two not agree about?” Niou said sourly. 

Sanada said nothing the rest of the dinner and remained silent as they left the fastfood restaurant half an hour later.

Could he? 

Yes.

Should he?

He thought of Yukimura’s glance at him that afternoon at practice, how quickly he had looked away when Sanada looked back.


	2. Fragment 2

Yukimura folded his arms over each other, watching his team mates puff and sweat under the hot sun. They all seemed a little quieter than usual, careful not to disturb him. Not once had he had to correct anyone’s behavior, not even Kirihara’s. He blinked his eyes and tried to will away the sense of abandonment he felt. It was the second day after Sanada had left for Hyotei and he had heard nothing from him. 

Finally, it had happened then. For years Sanada had put him on a pedestal. Yukimura had known this and feared the day he would find out Yukimura was not as admirable as Sanada had believed him to be. But that fear had lessened, when he had grown used to this admiration. He had demanded it then, even reveled in it. Foolishly, he had believed things would always be that way; Sanada holding him above everything else. 

Little Echizen had exposed him for what he really was. Yukimura Seiichi was not divine, but human and fallible. His pedestal had been smashed and Yukimura had crashed down. And there was no place left for fallen angels in Sanada’s world. 

“Buchou, will you come have dinner with us?” Marui asked, walking up to him.

He attempted a smile. They meant well, but it humiliated him that they all knew Sanada had forsaken him. “Thank you for asking, but I am behind with my homework.”

“Chemistry?” Renji asked.

“Nothing to concern yourselves with.” He checked his watch. “Go back to practice.”


	3. Fragment 3

Sanada smashed his last opponent of the day out of the ring. People gasped as he took off his helmet. He had just defeated the famed captain of Hyotei’s Kendo team.

The doors opened and in swept Atobe. Taking Sanada’s arm, he led him past the staring crowd. “My honored guest, come along and I’ll show you your room.”

Not wanting to go against Hyotei’s unwritten rules, he let himself be let out of the dojo, leaving behind a thoroughly shaken group of new school mates. 

“You sure made yourself popular this first day.”

“I do not care for their opinions.”

Atobe laughed. “And you shouldn’t, not as long as you’re under my protection.”

“I do not lay claim to your patronage.”

“You need not claim what is freely given. Come,” Atobe said, gesturing that he should go first. “You’ll like our room.”

“Our room?”

“Of course, guests should always have the best.”


	4. Fragment 4

Yukimura threw the ball against the wall and caught it in his right hand, before throwing it again. It was almost dark and he had thought himself alone. 

“You should not stay here by yourself.”

“Afraid I’ll collapse again?”

Renji picked up Yukimura’s bag. “It is not beyond the realm of possibility. But I was talking about burglars. There has been a break in at two schools in Kamakura the last few weeks.”

Yukimura caught the ball and put it into his pocket. “Why did Sanada leave?”

“Hyotei offered a good chance for him to aquiant himself with a different education system.”

Laughing mirthlessly, Yukimura walked towards the exit of the deserted campus. “You really think that is why he went?”

Renji said nothing. 

“It was because of me, wasn’t it?” Yukimura whispered. 

“Yes.”

The word hurt him more than if Renji had slapped him. “He despises me.”

“I do not think so.”

“But he does not… we’re not as we used to be.”

“That is correct.”

Yukimura did not speak for minutes, as they walked off the campus and got onto the road leading to both their houses; Renji’s a little closer than his. 

“If I had not gotten sick, would we have been together?”

Renji did not feign that he did not understand him. “You were weeks away from it, perhaps days.”

Yukimura flinched.

“Don’t be…”

“It is fine,” Yukimura cut in.

He took his bag from Renji’s hand. Both remembered how Sanada and Yukimura had been last year; closer than any two people at their school. The day before he had first collapsed, Yukimura had made plans to invite Sanada for a day to Chiba. He would have taken Sanada to the beach and kissed him there at sunset. Probably, he would have been kissed back even more fiercely. 

But he _had_ collapsed, and all responsibility of the team had fallen on the vice-captain. Just remembering Sanada’s tired eyes, the way they had looked away from him after his loss, made Yukimura feel endlessly guilty.

He understood why Sanada had left him after everything he had been put through. And now Yukimura was going to have to live with the consequences.


	5. Fragment 5

Atobe had no qualms about lounging naked in their shared room. In fact he rather seemed to be enjoying Sanada’s tacit disapproval. Lying on his side, with a book of Greek myths in front of him, he looked like one of those Greek gods he seemed so fond of. 

Sanada turned his chair to make sure he did not have to see him.

“Sanada….”

“Yes?” he asked, trying to focus on his homework.

“Did you know Zeus had male lovers as well?”

“Should I know that?”

“I just translated the story of Ganymedes into Japanese. As part of the curriculum of course.”

Sanada doubted that last part. 

“I wonder what it’s like to be fucked by a god.”

And that made Sanada wonder as well, no matter how he did not want to.


	6. Fragment 6

Yukimura smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks. The ball landed in such a magnificent arch that the entire audience held in his breath. 

Kirihara’s eyes narrowed, but all other team mates stood elated. 

“Well done,” Renji said. “That was magnificent.”

His two opponents stood defeated. Yukimura felt like he was getting back to his old level, perhaps even surpassing it. His smile stayed on until he remembered that Sanada was not here to witness it.


	7. Fragment 7

Sanada closed his notebook and stood up as his new classmates ran to the door. 

Weekend. 

A year ago, he had spent each of these with Yukimura. They had played tennis, sure, but also gone to his dojo or simply walked about. What he had liked most were the quiet Saturday afternoons in Yukimura’s garden. His friend had given him his own corner, where he took care of flowers and potatoes. Nobody else had such a spot in Yukimura’s garden, and he had felt honored. Of course, he had taken great care of the plants. 

This had stopped after Yukimura had entered the hospital and all his free time had been taken up by club business. Sanada wondered what Yukimura had done with it. 

A text appeared on his phone.

_Club meeting in five minutes in building B room 208._

He did not recognize the number. The only Hyotei number he had was Atobe’s. It might still be him because he had a bunch of different phones.

Building B was another building for the seniors, just separated from his own building by some trees. With a brisk pace, Sanada walked towards it, passing happy students that were either on their way home for the weekend or planned to have fun tonight. 

He found the stairs and made it to the second floor, bumping almost into Mukahi.

The boy sniggered. “Sorry, forgot something.”

Sanada frowned when the redhead looked back at him once more, but otherwise ignored him. The door to 208 was left ajar, so he pushed it open gently, half expecting to be hit by a practical joke. He was not entirely off the mark, since Mukahi had known very well that Shishido and Ohtori always had quick goodbye-sex whenever one of them went home for the weekend. 

Both were entirely naked, Ohtori on his back on the bed, while Shishido rode him. Moaning loudly, Shishido threw his head back in pleasure. He looked down on Ohtori with something even Sanada recognized as love. Their fingers entwined, Shishido pushed Ohtori’s deeper in the sheets and leaned over to kiss him. 

Sanada quietly closed the door. He did not bother to try to convince himself he wasn’t jealous of what they had.


	8. Fragment 8

“No, he doesn’t.”

“No, he didn’t,” Yukimura corrected.

Kirihara pouted, ready to throw his English books out of the library window and be done with it, but Yukimura’s expression made him refrain. 

“See? Here they already wrote in past tense. So this part should be past tense too.”

“You explain better than Matsumoto-sensei,” Kirihara said. 

“Thank you.”

“I think Sanada-fukubuchou is stupid.”

Yukimura tensed up. “Why?”

Kirihara shrugged. “You know.”

For moments Yukimura did not speak. His finger moved to the next assignment. “Go or goes?”


	9. Fragment 9

Another audience.

The reactions were different though. Unlike the kendo club, the tennis club already knew his reputation and was less shocked when regulars dropped like flies against him. 

Atobe’s face was the only impassive one. At a certain level he enjoyed seeing his team mates trashed. It would push them to work harder. Sanada felt his eyes on him constantly. It was not the hostility he got from some of Hyotei’s students. Other just watched the game, flirting with other boys, girls or both at the same time. The sexually charged atmosphere made Sanada uneasy.

Back at Rikkai, only Niou had gone out of his way to discuss sex and make lewd jokes about everyone and everything and Yagyuu in particular. Jackal had a girlfriend, but she was a quiet, studious one, and he would never kiss and tell. Apart from that, all people he knew kept their inclinations and attractions quite hidden.

Things here were rather different. Perhaps it was because it was a boarding school, but he was surprised to find that several of his classmates were dating and talking about it openly. Shishido and Ohtori did not go out of their way to rub their relationship in people’s noses, but neither did they hide it. And of course, Atobe oozed so much sexuality that half the school population seemed in thrall.

Sanada hit the ball with all his might, so that not even Ohtori could stop it. He did not like it that many in the audience did not just watch him because he played well, but because they were having lewd thoughts about him. 

His eyes met Atobe’s. With a shock Sanada realized Hyotei’s captain was one of them.


	10. Fragment 10

Kirihara hit a perfect ball and threw down his racket. “Tokyo sucks.”

“I thought you liked it there,” Renji said, picking up the racket quickly so Yukimura wouldn’t scold. “What happened?”

“So many annoying people. Seigaku idiots walking like they own the world. And that girl…”

Yukimura hid a smile and pretended to focus on another practice match. But he knew well that Kirihara only got worked up by one girl in the world; Tachibana An. 

“Well, if you play tennis near their school, you’re bound to run into them.”

Kirihara wrinkled his nose. “I also saw Hyotei. Fukubuchou was with them.”

Yukimura felt both Renji and Niou’s attention on him. He tensed up slightly. 

“I challenged them all to a match, but that jerk said he didn’t want his players to waste time on me.”

“Perhaps they were afraid,” Renji said soothingly.

Kirihara grinned. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Did Sanada look well?” Yukimura couldn’t help ask.

Again all that annoying attention on him. He glared until everyone else resumed practice.

Shrugging, Kirihara tied his own shoelaces. “Dunno, but he and Atobe kept talking together.”

“Probably about tennis,” Renji said quickly. 

“Who cares?” Kirihara jumped up. “It’s just stupid that he’s with them now.”

Privately Yukimura agreed.


	11. Fragment 11

“Do you like it?”

Sanada turned, taking in the view from Atobe’s roof. Surrounded by hills and forest, the holiday house was even bigger than he had imagined, and more sumptuous. Behind every corner and nook waited a surprise. He had been most delighted by the collection of samurai armor and weaponry on the fourth floor. Atobe let him test the swords and watched indulgently as he spent more than an hour practicing.

“Your house is splendid.”

Atobe smiled, the moon reflected in his eyes for a single second. Sanada glanced away, remembering Yukimura, but then looked back. He had spoiled that utterly. There was no way back. He should move on, should stop tormenting himself. 

Perhaps Atobe saw something of his struggle, for he stepped forward and laid his hand on Sanada’s hip. 

“Will you join me?” he whispered. 

“Where?” Sanada sounded more breathless than he had expected himself. 

Atobe's hand slid underneath Sanada’s t-shirt. “My room.”

He took a sharp breath and nodded.


	12. Fragment 12

Yukimura pulled his jacket closer around him. Passersby had theirs open or did not bother with them at all. He had a cold and felt a little weak, but he was determined to not have the others know and enjoy this trip to Tokyo. Renji had offered to accompany him to the enormous stores filled with flowers and plants, but he had called Seigaku’s Fuji instead. 

Ten minutes before two, there was no sign yet of his fellow-plant lover. Yukimura amused himself by watching the plants through the glass of the store.

His eyes widened and he spun around when he saw the reflection of his oldest friend.

Sanada did not walk alone.

Atobe’s hand lay on his wrist, guiding him to who knew where. Hyotei’s handsome captain spotted him easily and his grip on Sanada tightened. His lips set into a mocking smile as he skillfully kept Sanada’s attention away from him. 

Normally Yukimura would have returned such a challenge with raised eyebrows or a contemptuous smile of his own, but something in the way they moved stopped him from thinking up the right response. 

So he just watched them disappear and shivered. The wind tugged at his jacket as Atobe lightly caressed Sanada’s hand.


	13. Fragment 13

Sanada did not look forward to the friendly match. Sure, it was supposed to be all in the spirit of exchange and friendship, but the murderous looks his old team mates gave them as they walked up Hyotei’s courts, were telling. 

Most of them glared at him as if he was more the enemy than any Hyotei player could ever be.

Even Renji looked very much put-out when the announcer said: “Hyotei –Sanada Genichirou.” 

There was none of the usual banter in the Rikkai team, but a vicious savagery as they went after Hyotei.  
Ohtori almost jumped over the net in anger when Niou and Kirihara battered Shishido until he collapsed. Yagyuu broke through Oshitari’s counters so brutally that Mukahi tried insult after insult on him. All in vain. Every movement and look from Yagyuu were cold as ice. 

Sanada defeated Renji, but not without being unsettled by his weird mumbling that sounded more like evil speech than a proper language. Hyotei’s supporters cried for revenge. Shocked at the brutality, the referee called for a break.

Atobe sat down next to him. “Your friends are enjoying themselves, aren’t they?” 

“No.”

“Oh?”

“They are furious.”

“I see.” Atobe gestured at one of his servants. The old man promptly stepped forward and offered them both a glass of fruitjuice. 

“Thank you,” Sanada said, never forgetting his manners with it came to the elderly. 

“It is you they are most angry with,” Atobe stated. 

“Yes.”

Atobe dropped his jacket and walked onto court. “I’ll do something about that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Atobe faces Yukimura.


	14. Fragment 14

Atobe’s smirk was meant to insult. “Feeling better?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Rikkaidai’s captain smiled pleasantly at his Hyotei counterpart. He would not so easily be rattled.

“I’m grateful to you,” Atobe added.

The smile was still there. “For what?”

“Letting him go. It has liberated him.”

“Are you speaking of Sanada?” Yukimura asked. Though his tone was still light, his smile had disappeared. 

“Of course.” Atobe slowly rubbed his own neck to draw attention to the spot where Sanada had sucked his skin last night. “He’s excellent.”

Yukimura stiffened and looked back at Sanada. For moments even tennis did not exist to him anymore, as the truth sank in. No longer could he tell himself he had been imagining things, that Sanada would come back one day, remorseful. He had clung to the idea; Sanada telling him he would never leave again and finally take hold of him, as he should have months ago.

It all shattered to dust. 

Slowly, he turned back. No longer did he see Atobe Keigo, a human. In front of him stood only a demon. Something to be annihilated.


	15. Fragment 15

Atobe had practiced long and hard, had studied the matches of Yukimura with Kabaji. For weeks Atobe had played Kabaji as he imitated Yukimura’s every move as best as he could. On top of that, he had increased his stamina to his very limits. His tennis would finally be enough to make Rikkaidai’s divine captain kneel. 

Yukimura let him believe it. In the first two games, he pretended to be troubled by Atobe’s unpredictable shots. He tripped once, falling against the net. 

Atobe laughed, but so did Rikkai. They knew what would be coming. 

Just as Atobe served again, Yukimura’s pretense dropped. His speed increased far beyond that of Atobe’s and his rage was of a terrible beauty. 

Pained, shocked, Atobe stared at him. But there would be no mercy. He had said something earlier, something Sanada had not been able to hear and Yukimura would never be able to forgive. 

The young captain of Hyotei, who so prided himself on his insight, got all his senses taken away. For moments he struggled to regain them, like a drowning man struggles for air. Yukimura hit each ball right between his feet. Atobe’s team mates stood up, outraged, but Atobe neither saw nor heard them.

He refused to fall down on his knees, sought desperately for a sound, a flash of light that would tell him something. But his world was utter nothing. Atobe swallowed and bit back his panic. Even though he doubted his own existence for terrible seconds, he knew others could still see him. He could not let all his pride be squashed in front of them.

Yukimura let the ball drop just behind the net. Atobe did not realize yet that the match was lost. He turned away from his opponent, too angry to let him see yet. 

His gaze went up and for the first time that day, Yukimura looked at Sanada. His eyes blazed with fury as he walked towards his old vice-captain. Sanada gasped, realizing this had been all about him. He opened his mouth to say something, even though he did not know what it would be. Yukimura walked straight past him. 

Rikkai fell in step behind their captain. Together they marched off the courts, not once glancing back at their defeated opponents.


	16. Fragment 16

They all sat together around the table and old plastic chairs, but avoided looking at each other. 

Nobody spoke. 

Half an hour had passed and nobody had come back yet to update them on Atobe’s condition. Never before had Yukimura let anyone linger without their senses after a match had finished. Sanada had thought he had known Yukimura could be ruthless, yet had been shocked to discover how much so. 

“Fuck this!” Mukahi jumped up and left the locker room. 

Sanada and Oshitari exchanged a brief glance. Shishido did not move, yet his agitation was visible. Ohtori had his hand on his shoulder, looking at him worriedly. In Shishido’s world, he was the only one who should be allowed to humiliate their captain. 

The door opened and in walked Atobe. His face pale, he managed to find a chair without assistance. 

“Can you see?” Oshitari asked.

A quick nod.

“Yukimura ought to be disqualified,” Ohtori said.

“From what? Friendly matches with us?” Atobe asked. 

“He went too far,” Shishido grumbled. 

“What was that?” Atobe smiled. “You’re sticking up for me?”

Shishido shrugged. 

“This was between me and Yukimura. We had to settle something.” His gaze fell on Sanada.

It had not the effect he wanted. Sanada glared at him and then stood up. “I am not a pawn in either of your games.” 

He stood up and left, knowing what he had to do.


	17. Fragment 17

A sense of elation took hold of Yukimura. He laughed, as he had not done for a while. Just barely, he caught up with the tennis ball and smashed against the can. 

Kirihara wanted to say something cutting, but changed his mind. “Well done, captain.”

“Thank you.” 

He walked to the edge of the court and sat down next to Marui. The redhead had just opened a pink box and was about to take the first bite of his cake. He let the box drop to the floor.

“Captain,” Kirihara whispered.

They all turned around, watched Sanada walk up onto the court. He wore casual clothes, not his uniform or anything else that could betray loyalty to either Rikkai or Hyotei.

Though the team was collectively angry with him, they all remained silent as he headed for Yukimura. He opened his backpack and took out a folder. Yukimura’s heart beat faster, he knew what was going to be in it. 

“Here are my resignation papers.”  
Their eyes met, but only briefly, for Yukimura looked down. In a daze, he took the folder from him.  
Sanada bowed. 

“I will process them right away,” Yukimura said and turned around. Though he had to force himself to start walking, his pace quickened as he reached the gate. As soon as he was out of sight, he was running towards the school, wanting nothing more than to be alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sanada goes after Yukimura and finds out the truth.


	18. Mended

Sanada suppressed a sigh at Yukimura’s matter-of-fact reaction to his resignation. It made it even clearer that it was for the best. There was nothing more they had to say to each other.

Or so he told himself.

“Goodbye,” Sanada said to his former team mates. They just stared back at him, so he began to walk towards the exit.

“Jerk!”

He spun back to face Kirihara. “Watch it!”

“You are not his vice-captain anymore,” Niou sneered. “So piss off.”

Sanada glared at them for a moment, but decided to be the wisest and not engage further with the two troublemakers.

“You are discourteous, Sanada,” Yagyuu added.

This made him pause. He was not surprised at Niou or Kirihara being difficult, but it unsettled him that the gentleman agreed with them.

“It is sensible to severe ties that no longer hold anything.”

“How can you say that?” Marui asked. “Do you not understand how hurt Yukimura was after you left?”

Confused, Sanada stared at the redhead, not sure if he was making fun of him.

“They are right, Genichirou,” Renji said. “You are in the wrong here.”

“I disappointed him. All of you,” Sanada clenched his fists. “It is best if I go.”

“We are a team,” Marui said. “All of us fail sometimes, but we should catch each other when we fall.”

“And not jump into a hole by ourselves,” Jackall added.

Niou whistled. “That’s pretty deep.”

Jackall shrugged.

“You should talk to him,” Renji said. “You can at least do that.”

Sanada looked around, at all their familiar faces, knowing he owed them that much. He nodded his consent.

Nervously, he left the courts and walked towards the almost deserted school. Two flights of stairs upwards was their club office. The door was half open and some light came through into the dark hallway.

Sanada stepped in.

The most beautiful creature in the world sat behind the computer, folder lying on his lap. His eyes were closed and his hand was on the mouse, but did not move. For seconds, Sanada just watched. It hurt so much that they would soon be as strangers.

Yukimura turned around and faced him, surprise in his eyes. They stared at each other. Eventually, Yukimura veered up, throwing the folder on the desk. “I can’t do it. You do it yourself.”

"I..."

"You still know the password, right?" Yukimura's voice broke in that last word, so he turned his face away and ran.

Sanada watched in shocked silence as he passed him, into the corridor.

On instinct, Sanada started his pursuit. The other boy hastened his steps, reached the stairwell quickly. But Sanada was faster. Taking three stairs at the time, Sanada reached the ground floor just after him.

“Yukimura!” he yelled, making the other look back just as he was about to go outside. The shorter boy hesitated long enough for Sanada to catch up.

“What do you want?”

“To know what you want,” Sanada said.

A short laugh, almost hysterical. “No, you don’t.”

“I do.”

“Don’t pretend, Sanada,” Yukimura bit.

“I am not pretending.”

“You are sleeping with him.” Yukimura’s eyes narrowed. “You let him touch you.”

“Atobe?”

Furious, he grabbed Sanada’s cap and threw it to the wall. “Yes, Atobe! And yet you have the audacity to come here and pretend you care about me?”

Startled, Sanada gaped at him. “Why are you so angry about that?”

“Because I thought we. That we would….” Yukimura grabbed the front of Sanada’s shirt and buried his face in it.

Utterly out of his depth, Sanada stood there. He had berated himself so often and thought of Yukimura so highly that he had no longer considered the possibility that his feelings were returned.

“I am sorry,” Yukimura whispered. “I have no right. You have done enough for me when I failed.”

Sanada caught a glimpse of his face as he turned away. Seeing the hurt there was like a stab in the gut. Guilt hit him and above all, an intense desire to make that hurt stop.

His hand reached out for Yukimura’s wrist.

“Please. No more,” Yukimura said, without looking back. “I will accept your resignation.”

“No,” Sanada reached out and embraced him from behind.

Yukimura’s eyes closed, but he did not struggle. “Don’t give me false hope.”

“I don’t. I…” And here his inability to express certain emotions made him struggle. He was determined to persevere though. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

“It is okay,” Yukimura said. “You have chosen a new life. I understand… or at least I know I should understand.”

Sanada shook his head. “You shouldn’t.”

“What is it then?” Yukimura sounded exhausted.

“I had become a liability to you, and the team. I wanted to spare you the annoyance and left myself.” Sanada nuzzled his hair and tightened his hold on his captain. “I would forsake all, if you allow me to be near you.”

Yukimura’s eyes flew open. “Is that really true?”

“Yes. Always.”

He pressed his lips against Yukimura’s neck. His skin was soft, warm to his touch. How he had dreamed of this.

“Sanada.”

He turned Yukimura around, claiming his lips. All his feelings he lay into the kiss; his admiration, affection and years of frustration of wanting him so very much. Yukimura’s arms came around him and Sanada enjoyed the feel of their bodies aligning. A soft sound escaped Yukimura’s mouth and he became bolder, exploring Sanada’s mouth. Yukimura’s body lost tension when he realized the truth of what he had just been told.

He stood on his tiptoes to whisper near Sanada’s ear. “You will not leave?”

Overwhelmed by emotions and Yukimura’s closeness, Sanada shook his head. “Not as long as you don’t want me to.”

They kissed again, could not get enough of holding each other. Sanada watched in wonder when Yukimura shivered at his touch. His cheeks had reddened and he breathed as quickly as during a match.

“Maybe we should not…”

“Hmmm?” Yukimura’s tongue trailed down his neck.

Sanada lost all thought and pressed him back against the wall. Yukimura’s arms came around his neck and he pressed himself against Sanada’s strong body.

“We should stop,” Sanada breathed. “Otherwise….”

“Otherwise?”

“I will have you against the wall.”

“Oh.”

“Yukimura.”

“Yes?”

“You’re not letting go.”

Slowly, Yukimura withdrew from him.

“I will need to go to Hyotei. Get my stuff.”

They realized they were still holding hands.

Yukimura smiled. “Go.”

Sanada nodded and began to walk off, but Yukimura’s voice stopped him. “I expect you at my house before noon tomorrow.”

“I will be there.”

“And Genichirou?”

Startled at the use of his first name, Rikkai’s vice-captain turned back.

“Tonight will be the last time you’ll ever visit that place.”

“Understood.”

Yukimura’s smile took his breath away. “I’m looking forward to your visit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story. 
> 
> I am glad they have found their way back to each other, even if I wrote this myself ;)
> 
> There will be an epilogue to this some time soon. 
> 
> Drop me a comment if you enjoyed it (or if you didn't) and tell me about your favourite pairings and anime.


	19. Healed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Consider this and the next chapter the epilogue. They deserve some happiness after all they've been through, I think.

The whole Saturday morning, Yukimura thought of the things he needed to discuss with Sanada. After all the misunderstandings between them, he wanted to explain and have things explained.

Rules would have to be made as well, he thought, as he watered his plants.

No arguing without talking things out.

Respect for each other’s boundaries.

No more Atobe in their lives if he could help it.

A this last thought he smiled a little, but wryly.

While he made a fruit salad, he tried to think of others things that would have to be said. Who was allowed to know about them? Would they be a couple now and in what sense? Would it be okay to tell Sanada how much he wanted him?

Aware that nervousness brought this about, Yukimura still could not stop from overthinking things. Truth was, he had not yet entirely processed everything that had happened the evening before.

It was only when Sanada stood at his door that it all came out.

Yukimura pulled him into the hallway and fell into his arms, holding him tightly.

From afar, it would have seemed that Sanada did not move, but Yukimura could feel him swallow, could hear his breathing going faster and his muscles respond to his closeness.

All the tension of the last year came out, the fear for his own life, for losing tennis and losing Sanada.

Quietly, Yukimura cried.

When Sanada noticed, he broke away to look at him, worry in his eyes.

He just shook his head and renewed their embrace, relief spreading over his entire being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sanada takes Yukimura upstairs...


	20. Loved

Sanada rested his lips against Yukimua’s hair. This was where he belonged, with Yukimura in his arms. For the first time his captain trusted him to show his feelings like this.

They stood like that for a long while; barely moving, just hands rubbing small circles occasionally.

When Yukimura finally looked up, his eyes were red, but a smile played on his face. “You’re mine now, right?”

Breathless, Sanada nodded.

Yukimura stepped away, towards the stairs. “No problem at Hyotei?”

“None.”

Truth was, Mukahi had given him a few choice insults, but Atobe had not given him any trouble when he had told him he would leave Hyotei. Perhaps he was genuinely a little sad, or he just missed having the chance to lord it over Yukimura.

“Shall we go upstairs then?” Yukimura asked.

“Yes.”

They made it to his room, with the sumptuous bed.

“You wanted to talk?” Sanada asked, pushing away thoughts of making out with him.

“I did.”

Yukimura put his hands on Sanada’s shoulders. “Can I?”

“What?”

That beautiful smile again, as he began to undo the buttons of Sanada’s shirt. Eyes narrowing, Sanada watched. When his shirt fell open, Yukimura leaned closer and placed a soft kiss just under his neck.

A mischievous sparkle in his eyes, Yukimura met his gaze. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Sanada knew when he was being teased, but for once he knew how to answer in kind. Before Yukimura knew what happened, Sanada had picked him up from the floor. Holding his captain as if he was of no weight at all, he lay him on the mattress.

“Sanada!”

Covering his smaller body with his own, Sanada looked down on him. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Yukimura’s eyes widened and then his arms came around Sanada.

“I need you, Genichirou,” he whispered. “Don’t hold back.”

“What…you mean….”

Yukimura nodded.

And suddenly Sanada understood all. Yukimura was desperate to be close to him, perhaps even wanted to erase the memory of Atobe from Sanada’s mind.

He kissed Yukimura’s lips.

“I won’t go inside you today.”

Yukimura’s smile faded. “Because…you think…”

“Don’t think I don’t want to,” Sanada whispered. “Having you under me like this… it’s hard to hold back.”

“Then why?”

“We’ll take it slowly. Get to know each other this way.”

It wasn’t often when Sanada had more experience in something, but Yukimura now nodded, accepting him taking the lead.

“I have wanted you for so long.”

Before Yukimura could respond, Sanada was kissing his neck. A moan escape his captains lips and was followed by others as Sanada’s lips trailed down. It was his turn to undo buttons and he did so with great relish, exposing more of Yukimura’s skin each time.

Bare chests against each other, Yukimura pulled him up for another kiss.

They were both hard and Yukimura gasped when Sanada rubbed against him.

“That’s….ah!”

Sanada met his eyes. Yukimura was beyond desirable. For a moment, he regretted not taking what had been offered earlier, but knew this was the right thing.

He rolled off and lay down next to him.

Yukimura’s hand found his and they both lay like that, eyes closed.

“I am sorry, Yukimura, for my behaviour of the last few weeks.”

“I think we should stop apologizing,” his captain said. “And enjoy what we are to each other now.”

“Yes.”

“Call me by my first name?” Yukimura asked.

Sanada’s eyes opened. “If you want?”

“Of course.” Yukimura pulled Sanada’s hand towards his own lips and kissed it. “Genichirou.”

A shiver ran over his body.

Yukimura chuckled. “Want me to say it again?”

“Please.”

“Genichirou,” he said in a way that made Sanada want to undress him further. “Don’t leave me again.”

“I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was very late, but I've always wanted to finish this story. For a long time, I hesitated about how far they would go, but decided it would be better if the focus would lie more on expressing love than on them going all the way, even if they want to. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. I really enjoyed writing it, since it was different from my usual fics with all the fragments. Perhaps I might do a sequel one day. They deserve more love.


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